The apex court had issued a landmark short verdict on October 19 ordering legal proceedings against former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General (Retd) Asad Durrani and former army chief General (Retd) Aslam Baig.

They had allegedly bankrolled politicians to stop the current ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from winning the 1990 election. The case was filed 16 years ago by Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan . The detailed verdict of 141 pages is drafted by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The verdict declares that both the accused former generals of the armed forces defamed their institution, adding that doling out money to a group of politicians was an individual act rather than of the institution itself.

The verdict also said that the duty of secret agencies was to protect the borders instead of forming election cells. The diary of Brigadier (Retd) Hamid Saeed is also included in the detailed verdict which carries names of the politicians who received money and the amount they accepted.

Political cell, if any, of the President House should be abolished, stated the verdict, adding the then president, army and ISI chiefs unfairly used authorities bestowed upon them and also violated the constitution.

The court, in its short verdict, had directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct a transparent criminal investigation against all the politicians involved and if sufficient evidence was collected, they should be sent for a trial according to the law. The verdict also recommends holding the upcoming general elections on time and without any fear and doubts – Dawn